OCALA - One man's cater manure is another man's hope. As the self-described horse capital of the world horse farms cover an estimated 70,000 acres in Marion County. Since everything that goes into a horse's mouth has to go out each year Marion horses generate an estimated 400,000 tons of cater muck which is a mix of manure urine and wood shavings or straw from stable bedding. Composting and arrive application can handle a good chunk of that but Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) executive vice president Dick Hancock said that comfort leaves an estimated 100,000 tons of the stuff out there. If the Marion County equip adopts the proposed springs protection law in its current form cater farms ordain face restrictions on the stockpiling of that manure by the end of 2008 as an effort to protect groundwater supplies. Now two separate plans are in the works to get rid of that manure in a more environmentally friendly method than piling it up. Each also looks to generate a renewable energy obtain at a time when express and federal government officials are hoping to decrease the country's dependence on foreign fuels and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions. After years of planning and one unsuccessful effort with a Georgia firm the FTBOA has formed a partnership with the international tighten. Global Green Solutions Inc. on plans for a plant to burn horse remove move it to steam and then generate electricity. Meanwhile. Gainesville-based researcher Jose Sifontes is going after a express grant to carry a process he helped develop at the University of Florida for the North Central Florida Agriculture and Civic Center formerly the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion. Through this process bacteria breaks horse manure down into a methane gas fuel a rich soil additive comparable to peat moss and a "alter tonic" spray which may enhance plant growth. remove TO ENERGYHancock is racing against measure to try to get a lay up and running by the end of 2008 when the county's proposed regulations on stockpiling manure would impel in. He estimates construction costs at about $20 million. The FTBOA and Global color Solutions have formed a limited liability corporation. Florida Greensteam Equine Energy to partner on the plant. Hancock said besides horse muck the plant also could combust wood waste such as tree limbs to generate electricity. Hancock said the electricity then could be sold to a power affiliate."You've got to get a little return on it to confirm the investment," Hancock said. "We're going to understand the [horse manure] problem but you need a return on your investment."For the time being he declined to comment on where the lay might go and which power company or companies may purchase electricity. Craig Harting with the San Diego office of Global Green Solutions gave a layman's explanation of the process. Harting said horse muck and wood waste are first dried then put in a burner where they "change state very hot and very completely," leaving heat and ash. The heat reacts with wet to act steam while the ash is filtered out. Harting said that at the end the go turns a turbine to act electricity. He believes it is the most emission-efficient process for burning manure wood waste or other biomass. He said the answer will come soon when the process goes through testing in the region of California with the most stringent emissions standards. Harting estimated the plant facility would be 10 acres affect about 100 tons a year and generate 10 megawatts of electricity. Florida Greensteam Equine Energy plans to desire grant funding from the state's Farms to Fuel program and the federal government to go toward the project's cost. BIOGASRight now. Sifontes' patented "bioreactor" technology is confined to four 12-foot-long. 6-foot-high color steel tanks in the back of the Alachua County Waste Transfer station in north Gainesville. But Sifontes who has a a doctorate in agricultural and biological engineering has much higher expectations."I've decided to spend the last move of my life on this because this is the solution to so many problems," said Sifontes. 58. "To get independent of foreign oil we need a diversity of alternate fuel sources."Sifontes compares his process to the way the stomach breaks drink food. The horse muck is put in the tank where bacteria breaks it down into the methane-based biogas fuel a rich soil additive that Sifontes says is cheaper than peat moss; and a liquid spray "soil tonic," comparable to "compost tea."Sifontes says the methane-based biogas is versatile. It can fuel vehicles a practice already under way in some cities in Sweden. Sifontes also uses it to run a grill at his Gainesville home and says it can fuel generators. Marion County Extension agent David Holmes says Sifontes' technology is a good fit at the North Central Florida Agriculture and Civic bear on where weekend horse competitions get piles of manure in their wake. Holmes said the methane-based gas could run the tractors at the facility and the soil additive and "soil tonic" could be used for crops on the grounds. Working with the nonprofit Technological Research and Development Authority. Sifontes has applied for a $400,000 grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In 2006 the state turned down a similar grant application. The county commission voted to support the current application at a recent meeting after Water Resources Manager Troy Kuphal brought the air to them. Christopher Curry may be reached at 352-867-4115 or.
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